Then They Came For the Dissenters!

When 'President' Biffo's turn to yet further brick-up the House of Lords presented, back in 2021, numbered amongst the glut of anti-democratic fools and zealots- gun-toting-Botham springs to mind- Biffo also appointed a pick-and-mix selection of formerly-card-holding-'Labourites.' For those half-asleep, those harbouring socially-uncomfortable opinion, for those already afforded significant MSM platform- we might do better to more thoroughly question these particular pay-masters- the media 'celebrated' flood raised far too few eyebrows, too few questions, very few concerns. For the rest, the act passed largely unobserved, was perhaps tutted upon, or cursed at, or, at the more observant end of the political spectrum, caused hearts to sink ever-further, temperatures to rise! But, as the status quo invariably dictates, it did not overly rock the boat!

For a nation regularly, and through diktat, fed a diet of historical falsehood- monarchy and glorious empire- the above is not overly surprising. But, in a nation being increasingly modified to serve run-away inequality, the body-heat and sweat of disaffection, often bubbling under or over into dissent, is today seldom more than a whisper away. The UK's MSM would have us believe differently but then the MSM is often now far more part of the problem than it is an insight into any form of solution.

From the perspective of an erstwhile youth, emerged during the vainglorious years of Thatcher, things today appear far-and-away beyond bleak! Perhaps it is an age thing but, as events currently stand, I cannot see a clear way forward. Quite naturally, I seek a means that is not to be overly played out through fictional solutions or, perhaps more worryingly, documentation as entertainment of the nation's, or (perhaps) the globe's, multifarious crises.

For, whilst there may be numerous threads of modified concern running through acceptable discourse, the deep-rooted neoliberal experiment persists. Much like its own (unspoken-about) pandemic, this particular virus breeds and spreads through clever modification. Given time to react this one learns to assimilate. Thus, frequently hidden in plain sight, we are now free to observe the bleaker consequences of 'the system,' packaged for consumption as media-documentary commentary or drama- Channel 4's 'Dispatches' springs to mind. It is (almost) as if the festering spread has reasoned that crises re-packaged as entertainment may bleed the inflammation.

Incidentally the afore-alluded to 'Labour' and 'former-Labour' peers are Ian Austin (Baron Austin of Dudley), John Woodcock (Baron Walney), Kate Hoey (Baroness Hoey), John Mann (Baron Mann) and Ian McNichol (Baron McNichol of West Kilbride); undoubtedly this clutch is not unique! Of note, four no longer wish to retain any pretence at espousing Labour values, even under the sham leadership of Sir Keith Starmer, one of whom was duly cited during the parliamentary expenses scandal, one of whom stepped aside (allegedly) in order to deflect sexual harassment claims, claims that did nothing to deflect President Biffo's drive to saturate the Lords. Imagine the damage that such sorry souls will already have done to undermine any true Labour aspirations!

Deserving as any or all of these peers may be of the nation's contempt, the Niemoller referencing heading of this musing seeks instead to bleakly contemplate the impending demise of the UK's ghost-democracy.

I wonder if the current ongoing Ghislaine Maxwell court case might best, in its darkest corners, hint at the sorry state in which we currently reside. I doubt many onlookers- and I here include the Maxwell clan- seriously consider that the woman could be innocent of the charges... and yet. Is there not the uneasy sense that there are far more powerful interests at play here?

I am thinking here of Epstein's $500,000 'settlement' with Virginia Giuffre. I am thinking specifically of the legal weight of the wording whereby a curiously nefarious 'others' might somehow be exempt from further examination and possible eventual prosecution. Seriously, there is just so much to wade through here- no doubt numerous book deals are currently being beavered away at- setting aside the alleged, highly suspect, suicide of Epstein, turning reluctantly away from that unexplored and unexplained doorway amorphously labelled ''mysteriously unobserved' Crimes of Jimmy Savile,' whereby we are 'asked' to believe that Savile was so ingeniously clever that absolutely nobody was able to put a stop to what Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE, KCSG (knighthood lobbied for five times by Thatcher, five!) was up to! Seriously!

The self-censoring BBC might have us believe otherwise but surely we are not the only ones to be speculating as to quite how very high up the tree the mysterious and vague 'others' in that settlement may have been thought to reference! It is internationally clear that the accused Prince Andrew, Duke of York KG, GCVO, CD, ADC believes himself to have been so referenced- no longer is his legal team seeking to clear his name, more they are hoping to deflect with the sturdy weight of legal monies, monies that have been 'donated' by our Holy Monarch, monies that are essentially our's care of the uber-immense generational taxes handed down upon the nation!

Any thoughts upon the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict, Peter Benjamin Mandleson, Baron Mandleson, PC? No? Okay then, any thoughts upon Baron Mandleson's continued membership of the new-look Labour Party in the light of a certain entry in Epstein's address book, Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB QC? Sir Keith Rodney Starmer KCB QC, former Head of Public Prosecutions, just in case you'd missed it? No? "And now over to the BBC's Political Editor..." Imagine sound of wind whistling through an empty landscape.

Does the British Constitution even permit the imprisonment of a Royal? Within which country estate or palace would His Royal Highness be confined? Would His Royal Highness still be permitted to slaughter grouse on quite such a scale, perhaps aside those such as Sir Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, Kt, OBE? How wide would the Royal cinematic TV screen be? Who would man the kitchens?

How might the (self-censoring) BBC allude to any guilty ruling? How might they cocoon Her Majesty, magic away the costs to the taxpayer? Apparently we are to believe that the British Broadcasting Corporation is 'curious,' and has 'investigated,' how it might be that the first port of call for 'insight' into the Ghislaine Maxwell ruling should have been one Alan Dershowitz, "constitutional lawyer"? Note, 'constitutional lawyer,' not 'head of Maxwell's legal defence team,' neither 'former member of Jeffrey Epstein's defence team' and 'fellow accused, Alan Dershowitz.' Weighty airtime was also afforded to brother Ian Maxwell (BBC Radio 4), time with which to speculate as to quite what may have gone 'wrong' with the legal process? More money, please!

We should not pretend that the BBC was ever quite the impartial body that it self-censoringly presents to the mirror every morn, some duration prior to the 'appointment' of arch re-tweeter, 'Political Editor' and minute essayist, Laura Kuenssberg ('re-tweeter' note, not political 'researcher,' nor 'journalist,' not even tweet-'checker'). Headed now by Timothy Douglas Davie CBE (unelected as Conservative Councillor for Hammersmith 1993 and 1994), formerly staffed by such as Sir Robbie Paul Gibb (Editor of BBC's 'Sunday Politics,' 'Daily Politics,' 'Andrew Marr Show,' 'This Week, Radio 4's 'Westminster Hour' and BBC 2's 'News Night'), brother of Conservative MP Nick Gibb, now sitting proudly as an 'impartial' BBC Board Member for England, chaired by characters such as Richard Simon Sharp (JP Morgan, copious Tory donor). How better to ensure that the world renowned British Broadcasting Corporation retains its hard-earned international reputation for reliably impartial news reportage? Perhaps discerning viewers and listeners might do well to avoid BBC news programmes now pretty much altogether? Yet, amusingly still not reactionary enough for former- expected soon to return to the fold- employee, Andrew Ferguson Neil. And don't yet whisper prayers at the recent close pass of Comet Dacre!
Any thoughts Harry Cole of the Sun?

With such a line-up topics like the heady 'self-censoring required of all (often pseudo) 'journalists' in the UK's MSM' is most unlikely to occur. Why would we expect owt bar the truth from the nation's own broadcaster, the BBC? It matters not that this kind of assumption is now so roundly and routinely questioned; as Lenin reportedly said, "a lie told often enough becomes the truth," or was it Goebbels? The editors and owners of virtually all of the UK's MSM outlets would (openly) condemn either character but, deeply and most sincerely, they continue to embrace the fact! Who better or more effectively would know and employ the value of the oft-aired lie? And, who more humble or deserving of the role of Guardian of Truth than Rupert Murdoch? Ask Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair Kg, IWC, International War Criminal- destabiliser of the Middle East. And, just in case the BBC's not-so-subtle slant upon its news coverage may not be quite enough, we must forever encounter Duracell characters the likes of Gyles Daubeney Brandreth or Matthew Francis Parris, for their wordy spin upon anything from contemporary art to Dickensian philanthropy... Ta, very much!

So, when Martin Niemoller eventually came to his senses and penned his insightful words, 'First they came for...' he was referencing the slippage that had occurred within his 'beloved' Germany. It is most unlikely that he would (yet) have found much to object to in the current (dis)United Kingdom. The slippage in Germany, to which he was referring, undoubtedly began some duration prior to his personal objections- he was, after all an initial and hard-headed supporter of the Hitler regime. The abstract characters of his opening lines will already have succumbed! Imagine a twenty-first century spin and/or twist upon his words and we can perhaps picture the closed shop doorways filling up with tents and sleeping bags, the normalising of the nation's homeless peoples. Watch the icy waves crashing against the seashores and we can picture the rewriting of political climate, as the country prepares to decriminalise national manslaughter by 'redirecting' leaky refugee-laden dinghies back into the storm! Listen to the BBC's 'Today in Parliament' and maybe we can pretend to have forgotten the recent £20-a-week reduction amongst the nation's poorer families, pretend not to have seen the teaspooned tuna doggy-bags offered as school dinners during the weeks of lockdown, pretend to see no direct line from twenty quid out of the food kitty to fifty percent onto the winter heating bill! Perhaps we can pretend to believe Sir Keith Starmer- "former Head of Public Prosecution," just in case you missed it- when he hurls forth about apartheid-Israel bringing the 'deserts to bloom!' pretend that we did not know that the lands were already occupied by others, other who were doing just fine, others who's country has consequently been illegally occupied for decades! 'First they came for the truth-tellers...'

In light of the above it has to be one very special 'Hats off and great respect!' to those in the public eye, who still dare to stick with the actual truth! 'Hats off and a genuine hearty round of applause!' to the likes of Emma Watson and Sally Rooney, those who dare to speak out and to risk the wrath of today's truth-twisters (Tzipi Hotovely, Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Danny Danone, Chairman of the World Likud, absolutely anyone at the Jewish Chronicle, et al). Has nobody whispered the art of self-censoring to Sally or Emma?

Within our ghost-democracy there is a divide, an unspoken line. It is invisible and it is dynamic, fluidly so, and yet it manifests far beyond the physical. This line is subject to subversion, as and when required to be so; it may be conjured at convenience or vanquished as if it had never been there. Money and power may afford access, subject to certain restraints. The line's existence may be denied through ignorance, either wilful or otherwise, or else a desire to mislead or misrepresent. The line may dictate the fine art of self-censorship, where upon one may even be permitted to slip under or over this line, which must not anyway officially exist at all.

If one were to whisper of the UK's homeless, or the UK's working families, dependent upon resented Universal Credit, dependent upon those distrusted food banks, those insecurely employed in the UK's gig economy, then a line (of sorts) perhaps gains an element of credence. Yet, if one were to drift, perhaps through untethered contact, into the realms of a well-targeted (abysmally researched) tabloid headline, it might morph... there, no there! 'Another wave of Undeserving Refugees!' 'The Something-for-Nothing Generation!' Over to Harry Cole at the Sun for further comment! Magically the line separates a tenuous 'Us' from an ever-amorphous 'Them!'

Why, suddenly even Priti Patel seems to be making sense... Maybe those scrounging Middle Eastern refugees really do have absolutely nothing to do with the UK's careless distribution of military arms to Saudi Arabia and Israel... Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair KG, now there's a man we need to hear a great deal more from! Obviously not the bit where he ordered Geoff Hoon to 'burn the memo that stated the 2003 invasion of Iraq would be illegal, obviously not that bit! Obviously!

Listen to the latest of the fast track benefactors of the Conservative drive to bankrupt the NHS/line specific pockets and suddenly we (most of us) are well aware exactly which side we stand regarding any sort of line. Michelle Mone, Baroness Mone, OBE, instinctively we just know where she stands, or more likely sits- keeping democracy alive in the free world!

The whistle-blowers, tip-toeing carefully through a minefield of self-censorship required of such guardians of honesty, the journalists afforded a platform... and a comfortable living, praise be to them! One almost wonders quite what it is, what fragment of potentially-harmful and unearthed news, that may need yet further protection from the journalists' all-seeing eyes. Obviously not the Kuenssbergs, the Marrs, the Harry Coles of this world, the trusted and malleably united voice... it's the others we need to fear! 'Seek 'em out! Go on Johnny (Woodcock) boy!' Who better than the unblemished peer, Baron Walney, for such a role? Protecting democracy? What will he find?

One could be forgiven for thinking that the nation hardly needs Home Secretary Priti Patel's free hand upon the tiller. A democracy as jealously guarded as 'our's' must shine like a jewel in the heavens when viewed from afar. With an under-bite that might sever an undesirable child refugee's arm, seven-times (is it, now?) transgressor of the UK's (apparently highly flexible) Ministerial Code, Home Secretary Priti Sushil Patel is (apparently) exactly the sort of 'human being' a nation such as the UK requires, legislating truth for MSM consumption!

'Democracy,' 'improved' and repackaged for suitability in the UK! Ta dah!
Any thoughts, Harry Cole of the Sun?
Imagine the tired old opening chords of the former Empire's National Anthem. In the Upper House, picture Ian Austin, Baron Austin of Dudley, John Woodcock, Baron Walney, Kate Hoey, Baroness Hoey, John Mann, Baron Mann, Ian McNichol, Baron McNichol of West Kilbride, Peter Benjamin Mandleson, Baron Mandleson, PC, Michelle Mone, Baroness Mone, OBE, Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair KG, the Right Honourable Sir Ian Terrence Botham, Baron Botham, Kt OBE- Browning Citori respectfully open, barrels empty and held over the arm- and the ghost of Sir James Wilson Vincent Savile OBE, KCSG, all standing stiffly to attention.
Closing credits! The National Anthem absolutely does not fade, verse after verse, after interminable verse, everyone pretending they cannot hear the (off stage) fans causing a dozen flags to respectfully flutter. Replenish those lungs, please Baron Walney:
From France and Pretender
Great Britain defend her,
Foes let them fall:
From foreign slavery,
Priests and their knavery,
And Popish Reverie,
God save us all. (fingers crossed behind the back for the closing line)

Terrorism?

Terrorism!

Given that (some) governments, are highly selective in their condemnations of 'terrorism'- highly!- I am wondering exactly where the UK currently lies on the threat scale. At of the time of commencing writing (14th October) it is deemed to be 'Substantial- an attack is likely!' I've just checked on the Metropolitan Police site. That's level three on a scale of one to five, five being 'Critical- an attack is highly likely in the near future.'

In Northern Ireland the threat level is currently 'Severe- an attack is highly likely,'- one stage higher- but not yet, 'in the near future.' On the mainland Home Secretary Patel lowered the threat level from 'Severe' to 'Substantial' on the 3rd November 2020. Ultimately the UK's threat level could reach as high as level five, 'Critical- an attack is highly likely in the near future!' The last time that the UK's threat risk was deemed to be 'Critical' was in May 2017, following the Manchester bombing.

Terrorism!

It's defined as 'the use or threat of action- violence and intimidation- especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.' The precise wording varies but the gist remains pretty much the same. The meaning seems quite clear. With or without an absolute grasp of any sort of definition we'd all 'know' if an incidence of terrorism had taken place upon our shores... wouldn't we?

If a terrorist attack was to take place outside of the UK the chances of us being aware that such an act had taken place would be variable, far less certain. One country's act of self-proclaimed 'defence' is often another's offensive and, at the extreme end, its act of 'terrorism!'

The UK, as it currently stands, appears alarmingly relaxed about selling arms to all manner of nations, who will in turn use these to exercise terrorism upon various civilian populations in other parts of the world. 'Labour' Liverpool has just hosted 'AOC Europe 2021 (Electronic Warfare Europe 2021)' the 'Labour' Mayor, happy to have done so- three Labour councillors are currently facing a Labour kangaroo court and suspensions for daring to have questioned the organiser's morality! And our brave British Bobbies have been typically heavy-handedly policing the event against protesters. Where better to search for the source of several future or ongoing terrorist campaigns! Mighty Saudi Arabia upon the Yemini population or, military giant Israel upon the occupied Palestinians! Apparently this is just good business for the UK, where the terrorists may dress up nice and smartly and flash their expensive dental work! The culminating acts are to be undertaken, anyway, overseas and, as such, do not (need to) feature on the UK's threat scale.

Perhaps it is that UK self-anointed shroud of British exceptionalism that enables us to so freely export that which is deemed so terrifying when enacted at home?

Terrorism!

So, back in good ol' Blighty, where the lines are more easily drawn, when Chris Packham's home was attacked with an ignited vehicle the act quite rightly made the news headlines. On the day of the attack (8th October 2021) Chris Packham was filmed anxiously speculating about future dangers to his family and/or himself.

Yet, within the week, Britain's ongoing and (now official) woeful response to the global pandemic threat had pushed the Packham attack far enough down the news reels for it to have effectively fallen off the bottom of 'the' list. On 12th October Hunt (Conservative) and Clark (also Conservative) sought to selectively lowlight some of the failings of of the current (also Conservative) cabal. Then, on the 13th, William Shatner chose to thoroughly dispel any lingering misconceptions that he might represent some sort of uber-enlightened interstellar problem solver and the Packham attack was old news.

Certainly 'violence' and/or 'intimidation' featured in the Packham attack. Further, Chris Packham would, I am sure, concur with himself being classed a 'civilian.' And finally, in light of the mounting number of animal corpses being dumped at Chris's address, we could reasonably assume the attack to have been 'in pursuit of political aims.' The ritual slaughter of the UK's vanishing wildlife remains, after all, a topic for discussion in the Commons, even the currently highly depleted Commons. Thus, the act can reasonably be argued to be an act of terrorism. Had it been directed against, for example, the home of MP Raab, in protest at the parliamentary act of condemning hundreds of thousands of the UK's children to winter poverty and bouts of severe hunger, surely this minor tweak would do it and yet the 'intimidation' of 'civilian,' Chris Packham, for 'political aims' doesn't quite cut the mustard.

Terrorism!

We could spend an age speculating as to whether the fact that so many 'serving' MPs condone and/or indulge in the violent destruction of our wildlife may have tipped the balance against classifying an act of 'petrol-bombing a civilian for political ends' as a terrorist attack. But really the matter's already been decided by our MSM and our politicians, most of them. Of interest here, we could even choose to recall the UK's PM- then a Spectator journo- invoking the hunters to ignore the law, when fox hunting was first outlawed in 2005 but what would be the point? Instead, we may note that those who define what is and what is not 'terrorism' continue to fudge about the edges as best suits those who 'indulge.' 'Indulge?'

Popular argument would have it that Tony Blair is not a terrorist, instead that he is an 'international war criminal.' More so a very rich one! One who deceitfully invoked terror upon others for political ends. Currently, those who hold the reins of power may have blocked any trial but even they cannot yet fully block independent thought.

So, moving on! On and over! In the States there has been considerable weight thrown behind calls to reclassify BLM as a terrorist organisation. But, can it be deemed terrorism when a nation, significant part thereof, dares to question the celebration of former citizens who have grown rich upon the enslavement and exploitation of their fellow human beings? Which should we consider the greater act of terror, the tearing of living beings from their families as mere property, or the toppling of a bronze effigy of a long dead international slaver?

What does, and what will, the UK's Home Secretary choose to do with such information? What future for those attempting to better our social infrastructure (BLM) or our planetary future (Insulate Britain)? Where are those non-corporate journalists to be found when we need them, to properly draw and highlight the distinctions?

Home Secretary Patel is currently preparing the 'Nationality and Borders Bill,' which is expected to sail through the UK's one state system. The most unsavoury detail of which is that part which aims to endow Border Force operatives with legal immunity should their acts of state sponsored attempted-manslaughter achieve fruition. Just to clarify, in the event of desperate refugees being caused to drown as a result of being pushed back out into the waves by the UK's Border Force then charges of manslaughter or murder would not result. Such an evantuality would then act in direct opposition to international law! Already, upon the complicit Jeremy Vine Show, I have listened to the 'argument' that any resultant death would be 'incentivising.' Special thanks to brave Jeremy for platforming that one!

Terrorism!

'The use or threat of action- violence and intimidation- especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.'

Should the bodies of formerly desperate refugees start to wash up upon British and French shorelines will the threat level rise to properly reflect Britain's status? Will the UK's fearless corporate journos jump ship (so to speak) and adequately report the horror show that is British politics and the pitiful excuse that now purports to represent British MSM? Will Home Secretary Patel perhaps more openly sport the cloak of 'terrorist' and will the threat level properly reflect this?

I offer, as a simple comparison, a site that wholly dispels any myth that 'brave' Britain compares favourably to other nations in its acknowledgement and/or assistance of desperate refugees. Although disingenuous 'journalism' would have us believe otherwise reference to the figures will offer significant enlightenment. Barely a smidgen over 10% of refugees even attempt to seek safety upon the European Continent; many nations outside of Europe offer asylum to a far greater number of those fleeing persecution. Almost 90% of all refugees choose to seek sanctuary outside of Europe. Of those fleeing conflict, who even reach Europe, Sweden, Malta, Cyprus, Austria, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Bulgaria accept many times more refugees than does the UK. The UK's ever-diminishing (and ever more prohibitive) offering lies 15th in the Continent, behind Greece, Italy, France, Luxemburg, Finland, and most of Western Europe.

Terrorism?

On the 15th October Conservative MP David Amess was stabbed to death whilst conducting his surgery at Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. The threat level at the time of posting remains at 'Substantial' (level 3), 'Severe' (level 4) in Northern Ireland. The investigating Metropolitan Police Force has said that his death is being treated as an act of terrorism.

First They Came For The Socialists...

When Martin Niemoller first penned these words his message to whoever might have cared to consider them was short and to the point! Just four short lines. By the time that he had committed the thoughts to paper he had already made the painful transition from Hitler supporting anti-communist to concentration camp survivor. A slightly longer version of the poem/verse followed in which the also targeted communists gained a mention.

Entirely dependant upon to which historical period one wishes to relate the verse significant further peoples or groups could reasonably be added to the list. Yet to do so would rather detract from the focus, certainly it would broaden our perceptions of any alluded to persecutors, many of whom are likely to be white (colonial) males. Not exclusively so, of course, but significantly so.

The theme, or the gist, is quite clear; it conjures up thoughts of a society populated with indifference. Or pretended indifference born of fear. To brush in specifics would undermine the impact. The pretext under which socialists or the communists are rounded up is either left to the imagination or else invites further historical study. The fact that, in either version, the penultimate half line cites the gathering up of the Jews rather contextualises the whole. But then there's the lonely 'me' at the end.

Because the work is a short poem we are left to analyse it on our own terms... partially on our own terms. Maybe the culminating 'me' represents a last hidden Jew? Or, is Martin Niemoller here looking to broaden the field? Either way the message is a powerful one!

Martin Niemoller died in 1984. If he was here today he might be able to tell us, as I have always preferred to believe, that the 'me' is an abstract, that we can very easily substitute in the persecuted peoples of our choosing. As such the words are also open to lazy misrepresentation, even abuse! The term, 'cancel culture' springs to mind, barked with indignant pomposity care of LBC or GB News.

I like to think that Martin would not object to his powerful words being used in reference to, and in defence of, any of many native North American tribes. Surely it's an irony of the highest order that so many of the US military helicopters have been named after the persecuted peoples they have displaced. Or the Australian Aborigines? Or New Zealand's Moaris? Where to start with Central and Southern America, or Africa? Or the Palestinians? All, or almost all, of these people- surviving, hanging on, or since exterminated- seem to be connected by the blighted issue of colonialism. So, pick a cause!

Why not travel full circle and back to our opening thought?
'First they came for the socialists...'
That the BBC or the Guardian have elected not to pick up on this issue should serve as due warning, albeit a worryingly silent one. If we know where to search and to read between the lines we may find that the establishment ('they') have indeed come for the socialists, are currently still in the process of coming for the socialists.

Harking back, as I am wont to do, to the Labour Party's alleged anti-Semitism tsunami we should be encouraged to turn as many stones as is required of us. The alternative is that we permit somebody else entirely to colour the narrative according to their own particular pallet and whims. What substitutes for the news media in the UK would have it that the stones are best now left well alone, that it would be anti-Semitic to do otherwise. Too much hurt has already been caused, they feign!

Yet, if we were attending a high school social sciences or modern politics class, it would be highly remiss of the teacher not to encourage her more keyed-in students to shine a spotlight brightly upon the issue. Kick a few of the topmost stones about a bit and we will very soon, and surprisingly easily, be persuaded that Jeremy Corbyn was afforded more than ample cause to argue that the issue (anti-Semitism) had been 'weaponised to political ends' (my approximation of his words). If we search through footage of Starmer's post 2019 election speeches and interviews it is also easy to find and listen to Starmer stating much the same sort of thing. Delve and we can find images of him, pre LOTO days, in attendance at precisely the types of meetings that would see other party members being retrospectively judged and then expelled from the party he now pretends to head!

Corbyn's words remain consistent and honest. Whereas, pre-EHRC report, Starmer's words writhe, slippery as snake oil. We may find one Starmer post election, metamorphosed into an eviscerated-changeling post EHRC report. Even if we endeavour to read the document in its entirety we will find nothing with which to endorse or to support Starmer's weasel words. Starmer and dangerous sidekick, David Evans, repeat (ad nauseam), that they are 'coming for the anti-Semites,' the truth is that they're 'coming for the socialists!' If we care to look more closely at the internal machinations of Starmer's 'New' New Labour, specifically the mounting expulsions, we might be given to note that many of the targeted individuals are quite specifically Jewish (former) members, or they will number amongst the aforementioned 'socialists,' likely they will be both of these things... a tiny minority of them will be of the 'anti-Semitic' ilk frequently being referenced by Starmer and his cabal. I am going to venture further here and to attempt to contextualise many of those cited cases of anti-Semitism, something that would have been denied me from inside the party.

To contest that the Labour Party membership is/was without fault would be naive, yet the truth is necessarily more complex than this. I could state that the members I know, and have known, are not anti-Semitic, yet there is now considerable ongoing evidence to suggest that, for other members and former members, this is no longer such a clear cut issue. Under Starmer Jewish members, specifically those tending more towards socialism, are now being disproportionately targeted in what could easily be argued as an anti-Semitic manner. Further, I am going to venture to suggest that the manner in which disingenuous sources such as the Jewish Chronicle, AIPAC, Labour Friends of Israel and the BOD have shaped the current Labour drive has undoubtedly fuelled anti-Israeli thought. For those who even bothered to peer behind the screens it must have been profoundly evident why Corbyn, as Labour leader, was so reluctant for his party to adopt the ticking time-bomb that was the full IHRA definition on anti-Semitism. Elsewhere, it is highly doubtful whether useful idiots like Schofield were even required to gen up on the wording, in order to be able to bark on cue. I think it may still prove a useful exercise to consider one's own position before re-familiarising oneself with the precise wording of all eleven examples. Careful now, how you approach that latest or next condemnation of further Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, in the face of hot air onslaught from Mail-reading 'Jonathan' at your next dinner invite. Remember, it's by design that Jonathan doesn't seem capable of differentiating between 'Israeli' or 'Jewish' thought and action.

To speak out (and invite expullsion) or to hold one's tongue?
'and I did not speak out...'

Starmer's Labour currently operates with the same sort of 'free pass' that was afforded the BBC et al and the Guardian in 2019- many other MSM outlets (several of which have been consistently and repeatedly far more culpable) needed no such 'invite.' By the time that we are again free to properly discuss what actually happened to our democracy at that time it will likely be far too late! Merely an academic exercise! Think Windrush, think Hillsborough, think Orgreave and consider adding Grenfell and the 'awarding of Covid contracts' to the same never-never list. Oh, I know that there's significant dissent amongst the electorate but there's also one hell of a lot of indifference, much as is implicit with Niemoller's short verse.

"Oh yeah? What about that visit to Hammam Chott?" Jonathan might have retorted. He didn't, and for two very sound reasons- one being that Jonathan is fictional and an example, two being that the retort is far more likely to have been delivered along the lines of, "Well, what about that photo of Corbyn with that terrorist... in Tunisia, was it?" Imagine here theatrical nods of support from any fellow useful idiots around the table, as Jonathan sets to reward himself with a well-earned swig of red. At which point eyes set to glaze over as formally have so many brains.

I doubt there's many a Western politician, with any degree of longevity or international drive, who has managed to fully avoid meeting or sharing a stage with any character with whom they happen to profoundly disagree... or with a 'discredited' character with whom they happen to wholeheartedly concur. Try drawing up a list of characters with whom Netanyahu has shared a stage! Or Blair. Or Regan. Or either Bush, Senior or Junior. Or Trump! Or Thatcher! Each, after their own particular fashion, party to more than their own fair share of selective terrorism. Or Nelson Mandela. But such pursuits are anyway a distraction. Check the date! Make the effort to find out why Corbyn was even there. But, I'll save you the time.

He was there to lay a wreath in commemoration of sixty victims of yet another internationally illegal bombing on the part of the IDF (the 'Defence' part has to be ironic, right?), when mighty Israel elected to bomb Hammam Chott in Tunisia. So, any Corbyn connection to terrorism would have been in opposition to terrorism. At the time of this act of terrorism, just one of countless Israeli bombings of a peacetime sovereign nation, even the United States- the jets were anyway their's- was driven to spinelessly abstain, as opposed to veto, the United Nation's condemnation of this war crime! Now, ask yourself, how is it that the entirety of the BBC and the people's Guardian managed to miss all of that? Took me half an hour, just to check the dates and the numbers. Operation Wooden Leg! October 1985, fewer than two years after the death of Niemoller.

If one had ever been given to the misconception that the UK is a thriving democracy then Corbyn's tenure of the Labour Party has surely revealed an alternate reality! Undoubtedly books will be written, to lay bare the lie, books to line the dusty parliamentary and politics shelves of our more well-appointed libraries, those still in operation. Perhaps, in twenty years, the topic will be permitted out into the light, the BBC, a privatised Channel 4, will permit the subject fair game for a late night airing? Perhaps there will be a replacement gatekeeper Giles-Brandreth-type-clone standing by to ensure just the right degree of tilt?

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out- because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out- because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me.


Step into the spotlight Prime Minister Boris Johnson!

Urgent Manifesto for the 1970s!

It hasn't happened for quite a while now. I might almost have thought of it as a figment of a former life- something of the past. Clearly not!

Just the other day I got into an argument! Or was it more of a 'disagreement?' Either way, voices were raised!

I doubt that it played out quite as I would have hoped yet this much I know, my side of the argument was easily the better informed. There were those moments when I was faced with either biting my tongue or else taking up the challenge and I've never really been one for a great deal of tongue biting. Still, how is one supposed to argue the point with someone who it appears has never bothered to properly identify and locate that same point in the first place?

There was red wine of the Malbec variety, food and an element of reminiscence, not of the film variety. The rain held off, affording others the chance to weave their ponderous pathways through the gardens.

Perhaps reflecting more the red wine, I cannot now recall exactly what it was that sparked the exchange. Likely it was something quite innocuous, something hidden within the broader topics of conversation. Definitely adding fuel to the embers there were years of simmering containment, scores of unspoken thoughts.

As already stated, the precise moment when the strained, polite (my take) conversation undertook its metamorphosis is now lost to memory. It really matters not because this is not the purpose of this posting... although, as ever, the two are closer than distant cousins. So, broadly speaking, the theme is really more about individual personal responsibilities in the context of a planet in crisis, a light topic, or so one might have been forgiven for thinking if one had happened to spy the vacuous receptacle, the impenetrable smirk, that was my opponent's face. Maybe it was the look of incomprehension? Suffice to report, and no further, that he (of course it was!) had/has pretty much given up upon the planet, except for those dwindling resources that he clearly intended/intends to continue to burn, consume, dispose of, or otherwise exploit to the full, as if current neoliberal governments hadn't already fully torched that corpse!

So, in looking pleadingly to an uncertain future... I offer an aspirational and long-overdue, manifesto for a possible future.

It should be understood that (some) economists cannot continue to pretend that the neoliberal nightmare has ever been sustainable. The UK must take up reins that have for far too long remained unmanned (unwomanned), regardless of the actions of other governments:
* so, full throttle into a new and a progressive green economy- all the while hoping it's not too late
* fully funded switch to alternative green energy- sever all reliance upon fossil fuels within the next five/nine years
* national (and all company) projections of economic growth to be discontinued and replaced with ecological sustainability projections
* fossil fuel corporations (including lobbyists) removed from 'all' parliamentary decision making
* all natural environments (including those reclaimed [rewilding] as such) to be fully protected from future 'development' and 'developers'
* all UK waters to be protected from overfishing and from the depletion of habitat caused through any ongoing over-zealous fishing practices
* all natural fish species to be protected from overfishing thus, and through necessity, shrinking the current fishing industry
* where industries are necessarily adversely affected by UK's ecological switch widescale retraining and relocation programs, such that communities are not to be abandoned as with previous generations
* commitment to rejoining the EU at soonest opportunity- commitment to wholesale changes in the EU, away from neoliberal economy, towards sustainability without economic growth, ultimately towards economic reductions
* a national debate upon the means to successfully shrink the economy
* shareholder dividends to be dependent upon a company's commitments to its workforce, environmental and ecological concerns, to be independently verified
* commitment to 'unhooking' UK companies from economic comparison measures such as the stock exchange in its current form
* a new raft of progressive income tax bands to be implemented at the soonest opportunity
* fix the 'upper income' glitch to the current National Insurance system
* revamped (progressive) banded National Insurance to be increased, adjusted to reflect a commitment towards combating economic inequality, to (averaging) 1% increase at the lower threshold- to be further reviewed via open national debate within 5 years
* introduce a Wealth Tax whereby future national expectation becomes, 'assets (wealth) to be taxed ahead of income' - suggested 1% tax on millionaires
* increased corporation tax to 40%, in line with former UK commitments
* educate the nation's populace upon the countless benefits of a (justly/fairly administered) high tax society- tackle current peddled misconceptions as sponsored via corporate interests
* the triple-lock on state pensions to be immediately reinstated and retained for future generations
* VAT to exclude most/all essential items sought/needed by lower paid citizens in order to attain reasonable standards of living, alcohol at 20% as at present, 'luxury' items taxed at 40%, wholesale revamp of the tax 'bands'
* debate upon the means to most efficiently tackling and stamping out the use of off-shore tax havens (most of these are anyway British dependencies)
* thorough appraisal of all UK 'taxes,' with aim of necessary modifications to ensure that all will in future operate progressively


The environment is the only one we have! It must be recognised that the continued burning of fossil fuels is known, and universally accepted, to be threatening this global environment and consequently driving racing depletion of many vital habitats around our planet. In an interconnected world a lost habitat in any continent is a loss to every continent:
* retail to phase out 'all' plastic use within ten years- notable exceptions might include provisions for the NHS- regularly reviewed via open national debate, all current treatments/procedures to be safeguarded
* an urgent international means sought, upon methods of 'collecting' the 'continental' rafts of plastic waste that are blighting our oceans and poisoning our planet
* national search for alternative to current 'landfill' approach to waste- export of the UK's waste to poorer nations to cease with immediate effect
* UK's recycling program to be fully updated and funded, publicly operated, modernised- prohibitive measures to be employed in order to ensure that retail hastens to comply with nation's recycling program/aims
* bottle returns program to be universally rolled out with immediate effect
* 'all' use of fossil fuels in provision of transport to be phased out within the next five/nine years
* absolutely no 'new' fossil fuel fields or mines to be opened (or current ones to be extended)
* all currently operational fossil fuel mines/fields to be phased out within five years- affected communities to be properly safeguarded (not abandoned as previously)
* all political funding via fossil fuel companies to cease with immediate effect
* all rivers to be pollution free within one year- enforced via fully publicly funded Environment Agency
* tightening of all environmental controls at all sewage works, enforceable through prohibitive sanctions via a publicly funded Environment Agency
* clean air act universal rollout- enforced via fully publicly funded Environment Agency
* all farm soils to be toxin free within one/two/three years- enforced via fully publicly funded Environment Agency
* pesticide use to be universally phased out within one/two years
* import of palm oils to be phased out over two years, investigate means to help reclaim (overseas) lands lost to palm oil plantations, on behalf of the former populations (peoples and creatures)
* single use plastics phased out within one/two years- with few notable exceptions (ie. NHS)
* creation of a national furniture recycling program- to operate 'alongside' council tips, whereby no viable furniture to be disposed of, instead recycled into the local communities at minimal cost (under remit of local councils)
* built in obsolescence identified (notably within the IT industry) and eliminated- the right/means to repair rolled out across the industry
* a recognition that undue/excessive lighting also acts as a form of pollution (more so to nature), in addition to also being yet another energy consumer- all public lighting to be considered in this context and discontinued/reduced where deemed unnecessary/possible


A parliament that has permitted dishonesty to flourish on such a scale is not fit for purpose. The UK should aim to create a country in which the vast majority of its citizens engages with its parliament, understands how it operates and values its honesty:
* parliament to operate 'entirely' free from lobbyists, although not free from welcomed expertise
* fullest sanctions brought in immediately for cases of proven lying in/to parliament
* inquiry into quickest means to abolish the House of Lords- possibly to be replaced with democratic second House- removing a serious obstacle (ie. an ex cricketer with a penchant for killing rare species) to achieving an 'aspiring towards democratic' status
* the current honours system is recognised as a serious hurdle to democratic due process- if an honours system is to survive it must be given a thorough overhaul in order to ensure that the current dangerous chumocracy is not permitted to perpetuate. All such former appointees should be openly debated and removed at the soonest opportunity. Any future honours not to include elevations to any second House
* public register of all foreign lobbyists working in the UK
* prohibitive financial and other sanctions for governments who misrepresent commitments via party election manifestos- not to be financially redeemable via the public purse
* all political manifestos (viably electable) to be independently costed
* an urgent rebuild of the Labour Party, from the membership upwards, to be safeguarded from any future top (National Executive Committee) down effective 'coup' arrangements- to restore the vital missing element required within an aspiring-democracy
* democracy in Labour Party to be increased- 'one member one vote' must stay- threshold for leadership elections safeguarded at 10%
* independent inquiry into certain 'influencers' who have operated inside (and against) the true Labour Party


The nation's MSM needs to be an honest one that operates in the interests of its citizens and is not beholden to hidden corporate interests. Journalists should be unbound by editorial restraints. Without honest reporting of current events how can an aspiring democracy be expected to progress? Those consistently found to be in breach of these basic expectations should be curtailed or, in the eventuality of repeated offences, closed down!:
* editorial independence of all MSM journalists that they should remain unbeholden to corporate interests and/or their editors
* a fully resourced (how?) and 'independent' MSM, in order to protect the truth from corporate and other disingenuous interests
* re-adoption of formerly applied codes of reporting at all national news outlets (ie at least two supporting independent sources cited)- retweeting misinformation and then deleting it is not journalism, instead it is pandering to/feeding a corporate MSM who already has an agreed agenda
* a journalist's full legal protection, and that of their source, in cases of news leaks that are clearly in the national interest
* IPSO recognised as unfit for purpose, to be terminated with immediate effect
* new press and media regulation body fully independently resourced and given greater powers to impose prohibitive sanctions proportionate to an outlet's funds
* it should be universally understood/publicly-registered where political 'gatekeepers' (ie. Matthew Pariss, [also formerly] Andrew Neil, Gyles Brandreth) operate in the MSM guise of unaligned presenters (register of political activities) and are thus able to maintain the not so subtle slant away from honest/balanced dispersal of information/news
* highly/regularly publicised register of all media transgressions, notably within MSM (ie: Sun, Express, Mail, Jewish Chronicle and other frequent transgressors) such that the general public are to be(come) reliably and properly informed
* a fully publicly funded BBC
* a guarantee that Channel 4 remain in public hands
* 2017 General Election 'claims' to be openly and independently fact checked, transgressions made fully public (rectified) at the soonest opportunity
. home fixtures of all national sports events to be available on free to air TV and radio stations
* no gambling sites to be advertised during any televised sports events
* a new raft of sanctions to tackle misinformation shared upon all social media sites, with the ultimate sanction of closing down sites- to be independently funded and policed


It should be a celebrated expectation that those appointed to all public roles will operate always in the wider interests of those they are required to 'serve.' Where this can be proven not to be the case measures should be put in place to ensure that those individuals can be removed with immediate effect. The Royal Estate is currently an immense/expensive untapped national resource, the nation should view all such resources with an eye to the future betterment of all of its citizens:
* termination of 'all' politicised appointments currently in public roles (BBC, Channel 4, police commissioner, education, NHS, utilities), where appointment deemed to be not in best interests of the general public or the institution in its role of public provider
* Prince Andrew to stand trial on charges of sexual abuse of a monor, as required of international law, further charges to be investigated and pursued where appropriate
* national protection measures from politicised actions 'deemed' not to be in the wider public interest- with public consultation where appropriate- for education, NHS, public transport, housing, police force, utilities, military
* a full and open national consultation on the true value/costs to the nation of the British Royal Family
* fully dependent upon the above, plans drawn up on the public acquisition of all lands and properties currently in the Royal Estate
* art galleries to safeguard 'all' the nation's artworks from wealthy/Sotherby's acquisition and thus potential loss to the nation/world- where possible 'lost' artworks to be brought back into the public realm
* overdue open debate to be had on the continued 'ownership' of Britain's museums' colonial acquisitions and artefacts- where appropriate artefacts to be repatriated
* target of making all of Britain's galleries and museums free to the general public within five years
* further powers to councils to best operate with authority in the best interests of local people- decentralise
* funding to councils to best reflect the requirements of individual councils- more funding for the less affluent- shared authority with central government


The NHS is still the envy of much of the globe, despite many years of covert attack from disingenuous sources. It should be recognised that the vast majority of the UK population remains heavily dependent upon the NHS's continued existence. All those former services that have since been 'allowed' to fall outside of its umbrella of protection should be reclaimed at the soonest opportunity:
* a fully publicly funded NHS to cover all requirements/procedures deemed necessary/viable via independent inquiry (reviewed biannually)
* dentistry to be brought back fully under NHS provision, range of treatments made free at source
* nation's opthalmology requirements to be brought back properly under the umbrella of NHS provision
* proper full public funding for provision of all mental wellbeing services, goal of seriously getting to grips with a spiralling national mental health crisis
* all PFI in the NHS to be phased out within one/two years
* a highly-publicised register of all ministers who have operated in parliament, or outside, as lobbyists (ie. Owen Smith, Sajid Javid [Health Secretary], Priti Patel) for private healthcare providers- a guarantee that such individuals not be involved in any consultation regarding the NHS
* the nation's social care to be brought 'in house,' thus ensuring that those who work in the sector are properly remunerated and that private equity is not permitted to siphon off much needed funds
* UNISON's 'demand' of an immediate £2,000 uplift for all NHS workers to be fully met, urgent review of system for proper future funding of all staff- recognition that surreal nationwide images of PM and Health secretary etc banging pans do not reflect the nation's feelings/gratitude/debt


It should be acknowledged that the Covid-19 pandemic has been further fuelled, amongst other factors, care (also) of the continued international travel of many individuals from more affluent countries. Also, that the vaccine rollout has inhumanly favoured those same affluent countries. This pandemic will continue to reap a greater number of lives from poorer nations until vaccine rollout properly reflects the international nature of the pandemic:
* waiver of all Covid-19 vaccine copyrights wherever possible
* urgent debate on the best/most direct means to a termination of unilateral vaccine rollout program- replaced with commencement of a new multilateral vaccine rollout program
* all reasonable mitigating measures, such as the wearing of masks inside of most public spaces, to be reintroduced at the soonest opportunity
* a two-pronged national inquiry into the (real) handling of the pandemic- 1. handing out of contracts and funds, to whom? 2. recognising the true number of pandemic deaths- where deaths, especially in care homes, could reasonably have been avoided?- current '28 day' subterfuge to be disposed of


It should be recognised that good education is a root/route to a (more) successful life, thus the best universal education system begets the best (whole) nation. There is an urgent need to re-establish the proper respect that is long overdue to those in the teaching profession, and to guard against a dishonourable MSM too often making them the scapegoat for the failings of others. Those who have studied and worked in the profession must be those best placed to define, better hone, and teach to an ever-evolving national curriculum:
* tax relief on all private education to end within one year
* Ofsted terminated and replaced with fully publicly funded unit charged with supporting provision of universal education to the nation's youth and beyond
. ultimate goal of 'all' education becoming publicly funded and 'free' to access
* essential within a wide curriculum, honesty must always be sought- students should celebrate also Britain's and its citizens' real gains, but also learn from historical mistakes and wrongs/crimes (including against humanity and other nations). If this is not done then how is the nation to properly own its past and build its future- issues/topics such as 'Britain's colonial past,' 'Britain's past role in the international slavery trade,' 'Britain's military overseas interventions,' 'Israel's oppression of Palestine,' should be embraced
* schools, universities and colleges should learn to 'look' at the UK's international military interventions objectively, instead of too often defaulting to unquestioning 'idolisation'- it is immoral and dishonest for the armed forces to 'recruit' from the nation's school children
* awkward questions should be encouraged, notably on historical, geographical and religious areas of study- teaching of, and around, the subject of British Empire requires serious modification to reflect also the international harms that have been wrought through British overseas rule
* students should be taught to engage in fierce/passionate debate whilst retaining respect in areas of genuine conflict
* universities strongly encouraged to discontinue adherance to the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, replaced, where a replacement sought, by the Jerusalem Declaration on Anti-Semitism- open and free debate upon the subject encouraged- funding absolutely not to be conditional
* reintroduction of further education grants
* independent inquiry into university education in its current format, in the context of reintroduction of further education grants
* where departments (notably science) are to be 'sponsored' by private interests the 'expectation' must always be that there will be no influence brought to bear
* Urgent and full de-marketisation of further education- seek immediate re-entry into the Erasmus (EU) Program
* immediate 10% pay award to teachers, begin process of restoring pay levels in both real and comparative terms


All life should be valued and respected, except where it unjustly impinges upon other lives:
* a human right to shelter, sustenance, healthcare, association, work and education
* homelessness universally addressed with an aim of full elimination within one/two years
* re-adoption/recognition of the European Court of Human Rights
* increased legal aid to be made available
* unemployment, disability and all other benefits to be independently assessed and increased in accordance with the provision of 'reasonable' living standards
* a universal goal to insure that working will 'always' benefit an individual
* reduce levels of absolute poverty to zero within one/two years
* DWP unfit for purpose, thorough restructuring required, respect for the individual as the cetral ethos
* re-establish the social/financial 'safety net' that was formerly accepted as the role of the state
* scrap the failed 'Universal Credit' experiment- ensure that those in need receive what they require
* a universal basic income to be trialled
* an urgent national inquiry into domestic abuse in the UK- whole raft of severest sanctions to be drawn up and implemented into the legal system as soon as is practicably possible
* most social care to be provided by the state- 'one' home and savings up to (suggested?) £100,000 protected
* the state also to pay the hidden cost of any 'reasonable' accommodation, costs that might otherwise quickly deplete all of the above- those with private resources beyond £750,000 not covered
* state pension (available) for 'all' citizens at 65/66- serious consideration given to earlier retirement age for particularly physically demanding/stressful jobs (construction work, teaching, social work, ambulance/fire service and other areas)
* Shamima Begum's citizenship restored, repatriated and tried under the British legal system- potential future role in combating 'grooming' of minors


All citizens to have a human right to shelter. All future homes to be subject to independent inspection with the aim of guaranteeing comfortable/affordable/safe living standards for all:
* a fully publicly funded social housing program to be independently devised and rolled out within the year
* all new housing to be fully protected against investment purchase, with the ultimate target of terminating all future investment procurement of any future housing stock
*all future homes to be designed to socially 'acceptable' and regulated size, insulation, heating, storage requirements- no unviable 'bedrooms,' adequate cupboard space, outdoor space or viable alternatives
* all future mortgages limited to 3.5 x one stakeholder's salary
* all future homes to be fitted with solar panels and (where feasible) other means of green energy use and savings
* program of strict building regulations- reinstatement of many of the 'corner-cutting' changes to regulations in recent years, to ensure all new homes are fit for habitation
* all private landlord rents to be registered- rents limited by law
* all unsafe/unsound social housing to be made fit for purpose within two years, at cost to the original developer wherever feasible- full access to culpable individuals' private funds to be legally pursued
* full grants to be available to modify homes for viable occupation by those living with disabilities
* NHBC 10 year newbuild guarantee deemed unfit for purpose- all future newbuilds to be guaranteed by the developer, covered via private insurance- implemented within one year
* Council taxes upon second/ multiple homes to be dramatically increased- not to be recouped via tenants rents as all rents forthwith registerable
* with regards to the ongoing national inquiry into the events which led up to and caused the Grenfell catastrophe to occur- all 'concerned' parties to be required by law to attend and bound by law to give truthful evidence, all culpable individuals and companies to be duly tried in a court of law


The carbon footprint of the fashion industriy must be regarded as immense and unsustaiable. In addition it harbours many unsound/inhuman practices, globally and nationally. The UK needs an urgent reboot of the manner in which clothing is produced, retailed and dealt with at the end of it perceived use:
* the UK must seek to drive an urgent international debate upon the whole international clothing infrastructure, with the aim of quickly reducing its human and its climatic/environmental impacts
* a national restructuring of clothing retail in the UK, with a shift in focus to increased uses and durability- fashion as a concept to be minimised, with the ultimate aim of ending current system
* recycling of 'unwanted' clothing to be greatly upscaled, with the aim of replacing many current clothing markets/systems


It must be recognised that not all of the farming community has served time well as the self-anointed 'guardians of the countryside.' Henceforth all environments must be fully protected and provision of safe, home-grown food optimised:
* optimisation of provision of home-grown/produced food
* heavy fines for pollution of all rivers, lands and air- backed up by a fully funded Environment Agency
* a fully funded operational Environmental Agency with a new pallet of significantly increased sanctions
* any changes to land use to be registered and bound by commitments to maintaining or improving provision for diversity of natural species
* public enquiry into the depletion of native species/habitats with view to investigating reversals wherever feasible
. termination of all forms of blood sports and activities designed to disguise such activities
* landowners to be held accountable for the environmental and wildlife actions of their workforces
. pet trade to be fully regulated, exotic pet trade terminated with 'immediate' effect
. inquiry into the serious reduction/eventual elimination of feral cat population
* badger cull to stop immediately
* farm (over)use of antibiotics to be universally appraised and severely curtailed with ultimate goal of total elimination- other means to better (regulated) 'care' of livestock investigated
* the UK will investigate all means to reducing the nation's meat consumption in order to (quickly) minimise the nation's climate impact, and wide-ranging international environmental impact(s)
* animal welfare to be always of the highest standards throughout, enforced via publicly funded welfare units


Without adequate food we are lost. The nation must henceforth work collectively to ensure that feeding everyone takes precedence over overfeeding an elite. Access to food is recognised as a human right:
* where community kitchens continue (to need) to exist they should, in the mean time, be embraced as a positive aspect of community responsibility and fully resourced as required until they (community kitchens) can be deemed to be no longer necessary
* food waste is a national disgrace. An urgent national debate/strategy to minimise food waste (notably via supermarkets), ensuring that where surpluses occur these can be instantly diverted to those most in need. No viable supermarket surpluses to be destroyed in order to falsely maintain profits


There is an urgent need for the nation's transport to fully reflect the environmental crisis and for it to be modified accordingly:
* a roll out of a universal publicly funded and integrated public transport system
* subsidised public transport such that affordability for 'everyone' becomes the priority
* all 'public' transport (railways, buses, tram services, ferries) to be brought back into public ownership
* termination of all further stages of HS2- where possible affected habitats to be returned to former status
* all yellow lines that restrict parking but do not enhance flow or better enable access to be removed from roadsides
* creation of a national strategy for car-parking and carparks, designed to serve communities and not to just generate profits for private companies- 'public' parking spaces to be taken back under public control, thus bring back vital funds to local councils- all NHS hospitals and other NHS units to be freely accessible to patrons and hospital visitors (all further exploitation of ill-health to be discontinued with immediate effect)
* a nation-wide program of road repairs to ensure that 'all' surfaces do not unduly impinge upon journeys- removal of all speed bumps, replaced by proper police enforcement measures and effective sanctions
* widescale pedestrianisation/partial pedestrianisation of routes/areas regularly populated by children- whole raft of speed enforcements
* a national program of safe cycling lanes to be rolled out, duly taking up any slack that should follow the roll out of a universal public transport system
* national conversation on means to ensuring that the UK's pavements are to be ensured safe for, and usable by, pedestrians- wide-ranging issues such as pavement-parking, scooter use, cycling on pavements, various obstructions, adjacent building works, repairs to, etc
* all petrol driven vehicles to be off the UK's roads within the current decade
. vehicle noise to be finally recognised as the awful intrusion that it is- all modified/noisy exhausts by design to be off the UK's roads within two years, appropriate sanctions to apply


With careful heed to the deteriorating crisis/state of the climate, the UK must look to re-establish the type of industrial base required of a nation in a (self-inflicted) climate crisis. All the while, and with a shared sense of international urgency, we must seek to redefine the UK's international trading 'partnerships':
* building of a new national public steel industry that operates strictly to all nationally agreed 'reductions' in carbon emissions
* urgent national disgussion upon the sourcing required of a national steel industry
* urgent national discussion upon the appropriate sourcing of any timbers sought throughout the nation- all the while adhering to new protections for all natural (and reclaimed) habitats
* in strict accordance with the above, identification and agreement upon which materials should in future best serve the nation and the globe


It needs to be recognised that, in light of the climate crisis, the aircraft industry will need to be seriously curtailed with immediate effect:
* all recreational flights to be limited for all individuals
* recreational 'space flight' program terminated with immediate effect wherever possible- international accord to be sought
* 'carbon offsetting' to be recognised for the deceit it is and terminated with immediate effect
* private flights and ownership of aircraft to undergo independent review and to be severely curtailed accordingly, in line with all of the above


Far greater emphasis upon a holistic approach to the running of the nation's utilities. Recognition that many of the nation's wider issues are best served via an holistic approach. A far greater emphasis/recognition must placed upon the values afforded to a nation via a rich and inclusive properly funded accessible cultural sector:
* all utilities to be brought back into public ownership
* rollback of (all) covert privatisations undertaken since 1979
* rebuilding of the national Fire Service, repairing the damage done by former governments (inc. by London Mayor Johnson)- improvements and consolidations, publicly funded
* Post Office and telecommunications companies to be brought back into public ownership
* immediate universal rollout of library service- all formerl closed libraries reopened, additional new units established where required
* all drinking water to be certified continually safe for human consumption and regularly checked to ensure that this standard is maintained
* concerted drive to fix the nation's leaks
* all CEO salaries tied to the salaries of those of the company's lowest paid employee, suggest 20:1
* increased and fully backdated outstanding corporation taxes aimed to be collected within one/two years- all current loopholes closed with immediate effect
* new (proper) living wage universally rolled out, all sectors of society


Acknowledgement that remote nation building is a failed enterprise. There must be a renewed emphasis upon international diplomacy (where more urgent measures can be avoided) and upon respect for the independence of nations:
* termination of all overseas arms sales
* all nuclear arms to be decommissioned
* decommissioning of all overseas military bases
* withdrawal of all overseas military units except in accordance with United Nations Units
* sovereign status to be supported/ sought for the Palestinian peoples, occupied territories handed back by the Israeli Government
* prohibitive restrictions upon licensing of all firearms
* in its international dealings the UK should henceforth always behave in a respectful manner towards all other peoples, even where seemingly intractable issues persist- disrespectful/disdainful terms like the 'civilized world' are to be dispensed with
* the nation should do all that it can to ensure that all (Saudi) attacks upon the Yemeni people cease with immediate effect- just one example of UK's arms sales being used to horrific effect
. UK MSM must flip to questioning, rather than endorsing, the nation's overseas arms interventions
* full and open publication of all evidence showing, amongst other inconvenient facts, that 15 of the 19 9/11 perpetrators were Saudis
* personal use/ownership of drones to be made a criminal offence within one year- high street and online sales terminated with immediate effect- all remaining private drone use to be nationally licensed and registered
* UK's role in extraordinary rendition program to be properly independently investigated, legal charges (ECHR, ICC) to be pursued and nationally supported, where possible compensation sought on behalf of all (living) victims/families
* a return scheme for all personal drones to be devised within one year
. prohibitive sanctions to be levied upon all unlicensed drone owners within two years
* full publication of any/all 'evidence' linking Western/US/UK forces to the use of chemical weapons (ie. white phosphorus) in the Middle East
* urgent repair of damage done to the UK's connections to Northern Ireland (Good Friday Agreement), contritional full agreement with Ireland and the EU to be sought
* the nation must work with everyone and anyone who is able to assist with extracting/assisting desperate refugees wishing to flee the nation of Afghanistan


There should be open recognition that gambling and its pernicious tendrils have grown to become a curse upon our nation:
* online gambling sites fully regulated, all online advertising terminated
* all identified online 'gateway' games to gambling, accessible to children, and those disguised as children friendly to be terminated immediately
. gambling sponsorship and its 'visible' association with sports terminated
* a new increased tax upon gambling revenues
* all high street gambling facilities to be removed within one year
. all gambling upon sports to be restricted to the site of the activity- heavily licensed and restricted
. national lottery and spin-offs terminated


Advertising standards have slipped and advertising has consequently adopted a far too prominent and insidious role in many people's lives:
. curtailment of all advertising in its current form- advertising standards to be significantly strengthened and all future advertising suitably modified to comply
. a reduction in the duration of advert breaks on all commercial TV channels


The nation should henceforth come to recognise the immense role that the trade unions have played in the betterment of UK society:
* full union representation at all shareholder meetings
* full tax relief on all trade union membership
* full recognition of trade unions in all workplaces
* regulated working week- maximum applied to 'all' workplaces- universal rollout (where exceptional circumstances apply generous overtime or time in lieu by agreement with trade unions and individuals)
* removal of all spyware, employed to keep tabs upon staff working from home and in the workplace- it is anyway recognised that millions of hours of unpaid overtime are routinely taken for granted every year in the UK
* Flip the current Job Centre ethos, to one which instead assists and supports job-seekers and does not look to sanction individuals- 'help' not 'judgement'
* women's rights in all areas of society to be defined and supported- enforcements and full sanctions only where deemed necessary via appropriately staffed public body
* disability rights in (all practical/possible) areas of society to be defined and supported- enforcements and full sanctions (only) where deemed necessary via publicly funded body, appropriately staffed
* all disabilities henceforth to be supported (where necessary), not judged and sanctioned
* LGBT rights in all areas of society to be defined and supported- enforcements and full sanctions where deemed necessary via appropriately-staffed, publicly-funded body


The nation urgently needs to reclaim its democracy from disingenuous outside influencers. Where such activities can be recognised it is vitally important that they are brought fully into the light. Given that the Labour Party is (still) one of the UK's two major political parties it must be seen that this party is able to operate free from disingenuous outside forces. Heavy sanctions must, in future, be deployed in order to curtail this absolute corruption of our democracy:
* a boycott of all Israeli goods, in accordance with the BDS movement
* urgent international cooperation sought in demanding that the Israeli Government withdraw from all occupied territories and that all colonial settlements be withdrawn from, handed back to Palestinian families
* IHRA definition of anti-Seminism to be replaced with the Jerusalem Declaration on anti-Seminism
* a boycott of trade with any nation that deploys laws pertaining to apartheid
* immediate publication of the Forde Inquiry, currently being suppressed by the leadership of the Labour Party
* a full and proper open discussion into all of the findings of the EHRC report into anti-Seminism in the Labour Party
* it must be recognised the damage that has been done to the Labour Party and, especially, 'related' individuals, by disingenuous parties- full public exoneration and reinstatement of all those (still living) who have been victimised care of Labour's witch-hunt. Investigation into due compensation for these individuals redeemable via the perpetrators
* full national reportage such that all victims of the above may be fully and publicly exonerated- a corresponding 'reversal' for the perpetrators
* re-recognition of the decades of anti-racist public service that many victims of Labour Party/public will have brought to bear prior to being shamelessly hounded from office'
* in recognition of the above, a full similar report into anti-Seminist and Islamaphobic behaviours in the Labour Party and inside other UK political parties
* Independent investigation into the undercover activities of the British Board of Deputies (ref: 'The Lobby, parts 1, 2, 3, 4' YouTube, 'Witch Huntyoutube ,' Jackie Walker)
. an independent report into the uses of dishonest and disingenuous information during the Brexit debate, with full public disclosure- report to also investigate the airtime given to non-expert individuals/organisations (also on the BBC)- to openly disclose whether the public acted upon honest and truthful information
. a commitment to ensuring that any future recourse to a national referendum will involve presenting the nation with the full known facts and will not afford undue airtime to disigenuous/dishonest players, and will not necessarily be presented as an either-or option
* nation to be safeguarded from any attempt to reintroduce capital punishment
* independent inquiry into the alleged tampering into the 2017 General Election- report to include allegations of tampering inside Labour HQ, also the use of 'allegations' of unproven acts of anti-Seminism by several high profile current and former members of the Labour Party, by LOTO, major TV stations and 'news' outlets
* independent inquiry into the behaviours of the Jewish Chronicle, that has 28 times been found to have breached the editor's code and has had four libel defeats in the past three years- inquiry could reasonably incorporate MSM's reporting of these findings
* Julian Assange to be released with immediate effect and fully compensated for this act of illegal imprisonment- independent inquiry into whole sordid affair
* nation to 'respectfully' retire many of the 'elder statesman' figures from public life (May, Blair, Mandleson, Clarke, Straw, Mann, Hodge, Hoey, Adonis, Cameron etc, etc, etc), where they are more obstructing than enabling progress- except where they may be required give evidence or, on rare occasions, to be tried (ECJ, ICC) for past actions deemed suitably unjust/criminal. Space to be opened up for newer, progressive minds and those who will work in their better interests, who have a far greater investment in our nation's future


It should be recognised that the UK's arms trade and overseas military interventions has fuelled the surge in numbers of international refugees. The UK must, henceforth, shoulder a significant degree of resultant responsibility for this movement of people:
* an integrated national acceptance program for international refugees
* UK waters remodelled as a non-hostile environment for all political refugees
* the 'hostile' Border Force to be disbanded and reincorporated into the British Coastguard Service
* properly funded Coastguard Service to (also) ensure that all lives at sea are equally valued
. cancelation of all international debt where interest payments have exceeded the initial loan by ?%
* foreign aid raised to 1% GDP, with a view to increasing this in the near future


Respect for the nation's protocols of law and order should be embraced yet this ideal cannot, credibly, be foisted upon a population that increasingly recognises that the national police forces are becoming more often a governmental mercenary unit. Future priorities to focus upon enforcement of laws that benefit the nation's population:
* decriminalisation of many of the nation's recreational drugs
* national independent enquiry into the funding of the police force
* with regards to the above, ensure that the resultant force are full adequately funded
* national recognition of the right to gather and to 'peacefully' protest
* police force not to be employed to undermine the right to peaceful/lawful protest, with immediate effect
* proper regognition of the 'authority' of the International Criminal Courts


The country recognises that free access to all online services is now an essential cog to the optimisation of a better functioning world economy:
* free universal broadband provision


There must be an acceptance that the UK is now a multicultural/multiracial society and that the betterment of this society is neccessarily dependent upon how fully this reality is embraced. The embracement of a multiracial/multicultural society must not be permitted to in (almost) any way impinge upon the individual right to freedom of speech:
* all forms of racism and religious persecution to be legally and equally defined and racism in its entirety removed from UK society, enforced in law
* with regard to the above, freedom of expression also to be legally enshrouded in law
* full and proper inquiry into the Windrush scandal, to be traced back to those individuals and ministers who may be implicated- with consequent legal implications
* nation's current system for migration scrapped- replaced with a properly humane one. Build a welcoming country that understands and recognises some of the trauma that often generates refugees


Obviously there must be all manner of things that have been overlooked that will also need to be patched in. Heavens, I've amended this surely embryonic list many times already!
We should have started much of this in the 1970s. Once the list is started it very soon becomes even clearer what a God-awful state the nation has been reduced to!

As Greta has said, "You have stolen my dreams with your empty words!" There should be a great deal more anger! If we can only harvest it... there might yet be a smidgen of hope.

A Narrative of Royal Exceptionalism.

As determinedly as we chattered on, excitedly about Olympic progress, the successes, the disappointments, the grand spectacle, future medal projections, has it not begun to feel as if we are suspended within a glistening bubble of denial? The curtains are drawing back, the stage is set, a 'return to normality' stands in wait, awash with golden light! But surely, the hail upon the theatre roof doesn't normally sound quite so loud. Maybe, this time, the cast will have to work better at their projection?

Chisel-fisted, Sir Kier appears not to have noticed that the formerly more resplendent marble is now to be found only upon the floor, about his feet, sand upon the breeze! His efforts perfectly embody nothing more than an absence of hope. Rumour would have it that he 'plans' to create a whispering echo chamber... really it is silence, but not of the golden kind. Maybe he had tumbleweed in mind but those in the wings, such as Jess Phillips, do not possess such structural integrity... or worth. How many books is it now, Jess? 'Everything you need to know about politics: my life as an MP.' 'Everything?' Really? And just 'you, is it?'

So- excepting the theatrically inept- with the backdrop of undeniable climate change thundering about our ears, we tune out the white noise of Kier et al. Full circle (almost) the UK steps blindly into the Petri dish of herd immunity. With the poise of a First World War General Sajid Javid rules a neat black line through the economic casualties, abandoned to a hasty MSM historical rewrite. Oh, and a somewhat premature death!

And so, in the usual rambling manner, on to our 'theme,' which this time seeks to address the underlying narrative that has and continues to run through our nation much like the worst of aggressive of cancers. The 'narrative,' the means by which a story, factual or otherwise, may be told- if we can't narrate then how will our story, reconfigured by others, unfold? So, I seek here to delve beneath the surface, to explore the world of the 'narrative'- a curious mixture of truth, both shared and omitted, and fabrication, and thereby to ponder, ostensibly, the abuse to which the 'narrative' may be subjected. Nowhere is this essential to dignity and survival better understood than in the Occupied Lands of Palestine and by the oppressed peoples that live there. Although I was not permitted to speak this truth whilst inside the Labour Party- another worrisome abuse of the 'narrative'- or to openly speculate as to why this was so, here I may also observe the alarming power that is afforded to 'the political lobby,' factions thereof. As an outsider, I'm seeking to highlight where ongoing abuses of the 'narrative' open-up and then close-down debate, who may speak and who may be silenced, or shackled, noting the power often afforded to the Israeli Lobby, that the Jewish Chronicle, for example, is so often referenced and yet its countless legal payouts are not, how figures like Little Philip Schofield, antiques novice Fiona Bruce, numbers bod Rachael Riley et al may be news headlines when supportive of or compliment to the 'narrative' yet, should their angry words fall foul of the the public or the law courts then... nothing!

Care of a remnant democratic process, we learn that the Royal Household- symbol of all that is holy and good- has the sort of back door into parliament the likes of which we mere mortals may not even dream about! North of the border, where government suddenly appears to operate with rather less integrity than has been formally presented, we discover that a 'tiny' clause in UK democratic process looks set to further hasten our planetary demise. 'Crown Consent,' curiously hidden from public scrutiny, permits Her Royal Highness far greater access to parliamentary procedure than panto baddie, Black Rod pretends. The Guardian newspaper has learned of 67 instances, whereupon Scotland's largest landowner may continue with symbolic planetry rape to its royal-blue heart's content! In short, it has been learned that the nation's Royals have now, approaching seventy times, sought to exempt themselves from national measures that might otherwise benefit its citizens, environmental issues, climate concerns, such like. The manner in which this information has come to light suggests that Royal evasion of the UK's meagre planetary conservation measures has been procured via 'persuasion' of Scottish Government but, given the urgency of our plight, we are left to surely conclude that it is far more likely that feudalism continues unchecked with its jolly rein! Quelle surprise! hardly covers it.

Sticking, for the moment, with the Royals because our next port of call also touches upon this esteemed family's social standing and value-hierarchy, on to William, who recently appeared to have reclaimed something of the high ground when he spoke out so passionately about mental health and well-being. Undoubtedly the topic is one of utmost urgency and scale! Those like Piers Morgan may wish to pick at the scab's raw edges but few can seriously question the need for the UK and other more affluent nations to address the festering sore that is its nation's mental wellbeing, or more so the lack thereof.

At the Royal nod our journos compliantly grasped the issue as if it had always been at the forefront of their thoughts. MPs embraced the topic as if with genuine intent, although most subtly wishing to deflect away from requisite 'adequate funding.' Celebs, as is their wont, jostled for airtime! Please accept that, for the purposes of this short jotting, I have necessarily truncated the spread of reportage. Please note also, for the purposes of contextualisation, that it must be noted that, formally, the MSM trend has been to downplay decades of spiralling self-harm and suicides across many sections of our disparate society. Whatever else, maybe William has helped to tip the balance towards greater discussion.

Even so, William's role, I am going to suggest, has employed more than a significant slice of subterfuge. Key to this 'slice' is the UK's heavy reliance upon property ownership and, more specifically, landlordship. As one of the UK's more wealthy landlords it is most unlikely that the Royals will wish to shine too bright a light upon issues of insecure tenure. In their corporate role, and with the well-honed voice of the landlord, it has never really been within the journos remit to do so. As a workplace of numerous major investors in this practice neither has it featured unmolested within the Commons. Thus the trend continues to be, 'more houses for landlord investment,' absolutely, 'secure and affordable social tenancies,' absolutely not!

Think it, say it, shout it, and often, from the rooftops! 'We could greatly improve the nation's mental wellbeing through the creation of affordable homes, and via secure affordable tenancies!' Instead, our landlord classes seem to be increasingly impressed with the stacked shoeboxes Asian model.

For those paying closer attention, specifically when it seemed likely that a democratic party might for once actually come to serve in The Commons, or (even briefly) within the shores of The United States, we should understand that proper access to the 'narrative' is of paramount importance, more so to those who wish to replace 'inconvenient' fact with confected fiction. Behind a media smokescreen of weaponised anti-Semitism the UK narrative has now effectively been wrest free from democratic control, perhaps more so than at any time in living memory, bobbing weakly in the US slipstream. It is of absolutely no coincidence that Israeli Government, operating now as an unashamedly apartheid state, is also shown to hold far more than its fair share of influence within those two foreign shores. Searching through non-corporate news we can ascertain that Israel is very much a nation which 'demonstrably' operates a very violent grasp upon the narrative. Further more, and care of organisations such as AIPAC and the Jewish Chronicle, the nation demonstrates a fanatical obsession with the wider perspective! Join those dots, Mr Peston, go on Ms Kuennsberg, Commons retweeters par excellence! Pretend to be actual journalists for a short stint! Taste the freedom!

Which brings us 'neatly' round to two perfect examples of the awfulness of the 'controlled narrative,' where it does not best serve, in actuality, even the commentator. Both examples demonstrate a highly distasteful consequence of the abuse of the narrative. And both serve to highlight the sorry state of affairs that occurs, all too frequently, within a media that is neither properly accountable nor, in any manner, beneficial to a healthy democracy. First, we should take a peek into the life of Times 'journo' Giles Corren, demonstrably the least talented of his set!

Mr Corren was very recently given to post a particularly unpleasant comment about the infinitely superior Dawn Foster. Now Dawn, having recently sadly died as a consequence of a long-standing illness, was unable to reply. Mr Corren stated that he was glad that she had died, I believe he even went so far as to type, 'HA HA HA!' Dawn's perceived 'crime' was to have accurately noted that Mr Corren's easy ride to prominence has been by virtue of having a funnier, cleverer, more talented father. Fair point! No doubt, most individuals who are even aware of his 'work' will have swiftly concurred. No debate! In many respects, given the awful quagmire that is so much of social media, (almost) neither is his ill-choice of words- that is to say 'worthy of debate.' So, my point is more the issue of an initial reluctance on the part of the MSM to confront Mr Corren's comments, or even to acknowledge his ill-conceived words.

When Giles's comment duly drew greater attention, as G.C. had intended, from individuals more appreciative of former top journalist Dawn Foster's work, some of whom then decided to demonstrate their distaste for G.C.'s commentary upon his property, that was the point at which our glorious MSM- feeding frenzy primed- chose to respond. Up until that moment their ranks had effectively closed upon the 'crime,' typically reluctant to crawl to the defence of one deceased left-winger at the expense of a fellow corporateist right-winger. Party to the narrative is also the selective absence of reporting- I believe it's termed, 'unplatforming.' The practice has become routine within the inner echelons of the UK's MSM; it's an act of the utmost verbal contortion that the term has been so swiftly weaponised and added to the UK's MSM arsenal.

My second offering of misplaced self-worth, cloaked within that trusty halo of 'assumed narrative,' comes to light care of one Chris Bryant MP. Mr Bryant, shielding behind the misnomer of 'Labour' MP, I would argue, demonstrated an altogether greater incidence of arrogance borne of assumed narrative control. Posting entirely as one of Starmer's vacuous anti-socialist operatives, Mr Bryant was hoping to spread the anti-democratic net ever wider by 'commenting' upon Peru's newly elected President Castillo. Using all of that New Labour integrity that he'd accumulated, Mr Bryant pretended concern that the Peruvian people should have to choose from two such discreditable candidates, lumping the new president together with a proven and documented criminal. Again, to contextualise the situation, I should here point out that Peruvian President Pedro Castillo is a trade unionist, looking to improve the lot of the working electorate in his country, the defeated presidential candidate having been the corrupt daughter of the corrupt former president, one Keiko Fujimori. It must be hoped that the Fujimori family can now be brought to justice, so that the immense scale of their corruption may be more widely known about.

In the ensuing 'conversation,' Mr Bryant, clearly having overlooked the fact that Chile's Salvador Allende was a twice democratically elected socialist, boasted about his own South American credentials and connections. In current UK political mode, perhaps, Mr Bryant again assumed an absence of accurate historical recall on the part of any recipient to his commentary. It was therefore doubly unfortunate that there remains clear record of Mr Chris Bryant palling up to Colombian mass-assassin Alvaro Uribe, thus reminding the readers of yet more obscene UK overseas military involvement, care of international war criminal Tony Blair. Empty vessel Bryant proceeded to draw fire from those who, unfortunately for him, fully recollected New Labour involvement with Mario Montoya, various Colombian death squads and the consequent mass disappearances of Colombian citizens. Good business was it, eh Mr Bryant?

Imagine, for a moment, how 'our' non-accountable MSM would have exploited such information if it had happened under a democratic-socialist government! Compare and contrast the vacuum that has accompanied Mr Bryant's abuse of the assumed narrative. I would bet that Mr Bryant's latest 'unfortunate' tirade remains unknown to the vast majority of UK citizens.

Contrastingly, and at the other end of the moral divide, Labour MP Dawn Butler has just played out the consequences of having almost no control of the narrative, despite demonstrating an absolute grasp and control of the truth. On the 22nd July 2021 Dawn Butler MP stood in the Commons to call out (mis)serving PM Johnson's appalling grasp upon honesty. Dawn revisited and listed many of PM Johnson's well-documented lies- all of which can be verified- yet she was then told to retract or to nullify her words, according to current parliamentary protocols. Thus, concerned citizens of the UK have been 'treated' to the bizarre spectacle of Prime Ministerial repeated lies, whereby thousands of its citizens have had lives cut short, being prioritised over absolute truth! Thus, the corruption of the narrative can now be observed to be so extreme as to no longer require even the most basic of disguises. At which point contemplation as to quite which spin on reality is playing out in the skulls of those such as Baron Austin of Dudley, Dame Margaret Hodge, Baron Mann- please note, all flowery 'Barons' and 'Dames' no less (no more!)- evades all credibility! That an ice-cream producer (Ben and Jerry's), albeit an anti-Semitic one in the 'minds' of those listed above, might illicit a more positive reaction than the entire Opposition Front Bench surely belies belief! Such is the current abuse of Palestinian rights within the Occupied Territories that even the Guardian newspaper finds itself politically compromised.

Of course, honest and open reporting of the actual facts lies heavily dependant upon the freedom of the journalist so to do. Here we must recall the oft-echoed narrative of 'the UK's 'free' press, and then juxtapose this with that same term's implied message of 'freedom to honestly report' and we should take note of the discrepancies. Peter Oborne is a long-time 'journalist' who in the past has worked for several highly dubious publications- The Spectator, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph- where the living was 'comfortable,' yet he has latterly opted to cut himself adrift in the far more honourable pursuit of actual journalism in order to seek out actual truths! Peter's leap from comfortable dishonour and into that of a more precarious honesty is not unheard of yet runs somewhat against the grain. He often talks about having been driven, in large part, through his disillusionment with successive Conservative Government refusal to either acknowledge or to call out Israeli war crimes against an occupied Palestinian People. Maybe he has found honesty to be rather liberating because his latest book offering- 'The Assault on Truth'- has sought to stitch together the lie-athon that is Boris Johnson's life (or rather 'lief'). Where the publication has even been acknowledged, in amongst the pages of selective reporting and half-truths, of the UK's sorry MSM, Peter Oborne is referred to as a man who has "kept all of the receipts." The label is used to imply bitterness or grudge-bearing intent, but should instead be read by those seeking the higher ground as 'speaking truth to power.'

So, control of the narrative is increasingly seen as an essential in modern-day politics and those governments who have more ravenously grasped this 'inconvenience,' and with the greater zeal, can be observed to have gained significantly the upper hand in their share of regional or global power. Yet any positive parallels that may be drawn between this control and honour should be seen to be effectively non-existent! Observe and note that those journalists who are most frequently afforded any role in conveying the chosen narrative may now, quite openly, be identified as amongst the profession's most compromised individuals- Chomsky explained it most eloquently to a bemused Andrew Marr, over twenty years ago, way back on 14th February 1996.

The recent horrifying IPCC report, on the ongoing climate crisis, drawing the most direct parallels yet between an elitist greed and runaway global warming, is currently still just too hot for moulding to the 'desired' narrative, yet we should be in no doubt that selected script writers are hard at work to that effect, behind the scenes, soon to be back in the driving seat, narrating us headlong into that shared catastrophic finale! Step into the breach antiques novice Fiona Bruce, to head the Newsnight response, field the questions for the BBC. As the situation's quite so dire why not- over the heads of thousands of scientific minds- see what Boris's dad has to say? The foundations are already laid! Deep inhale, hold it, wait to see how Patel's Mercenary Police Force are instructed to take on Extinction Rebellion's, BLM's or any other such organisation's next protest. In which context, it should be noted also that the UK's largest Press Office by far is that of the UK's Police Force. No Officers on hand to deal with spiralling burglaries but just try and organise a peaceful vigil for a woman who's just been murdered by one of those Officers! Surely this can't be one and the same Police Force!, you query No wonder they need all those Press 'Moguls!'

If all of this has seemed a touch over dramatic perhaps we should take check and feed in also a little positive info? It's only a rumour though. So, keep it under the old hat! I hear from a thoroghly reliable source at the Spectator, or was it the Telegraph, the Mail? Anyway, whatever. Everybody's favourite hippy icon, Sir Richard Branson, space explorer and purveyor of environmental insightfulness, is whispered to have had this great idea for those final gasping breaths. The twenty-four carat platinum grin of the great God himself, beaming down from the globe's largest ever cloud projection, mouthing a cheery goodbye! Warmed me, just a little... Waste of precious resources, my derriere!

'Win the Future,' WTF!